The real "Nick Maclaren" wrote in reply to Mandy P

| 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the
| bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors
| tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge
| roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming
| up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned
| above.

Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. To a
first approximation, you can't get rid of it. It's been around
for 300 million years and will outlast the human species. It's
not unattractive, so you could try living with it at the end and
mowing it in the lawn.


We have Mare's Tail on both our allotments and I agree with Nick, it's
virtually impossible to eradicate especially as it has a skin that
weedkillers simply can't penetrate and black roots that go down to
Australia.
When it first arrived marching across the site like a slow wave it went
berserk and grew thickly, but as the years progressed and with hoeing etc,
it has settled down to a few here and there and isn't a problem, just
another weed to hoe.
In your case grassing and mowing the whole area will ensure it doesn't get
too bad.

Bad luck. An experienced gardener may have gone elsewhere. Please tell me
none of your neighbours have Leylandii hedges. :-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London